Sick of it All

Insert witty comment here while I take a nap.

This is not the post I was going to make today.

Instead, I'm on day two of a pretty nasty bug I've picked up.

I made the decision to stay home and get better quickly, rather than push it and make myself sick longer (I find, as a I age, this is definitely the wiser thing to do).  I also wanted to avoid spreading whatever I have.

On the one hand, I'm lucky - I don't have a boss to try to convince I'm sick enough to stay home.

On the other hand, it's seriously impacting my business, and there really isn't anything I can do about it, as I am a one-man shop, and there's only me - nobody will cover me.

Automation tools have helped my online presence, at least, and I can keep doing a lot of that at home, but I'm a very hyper-localized business, and I need to be out and about seeing folks in order to generate billable hours.

So I have a question for you - what do you do when you're sick in your small business?  Let me know!

Five Reasons Your Leads Referral Group Sucks (Part 2)

We talked about the first two reasons in Part 1.  Here’s three more - do any of them sound familiar?

3) It’s a Clique

Membership might be easy, and the locked in industries specific and wide open to lots of people, but this kind of group is typically quite small.

New people are not warmly welcomed, they don’t go out of their way to talk to new participants, conversation is entirely self-referential (thus, outsiders don’t know what they are talking about) and any violation of group rules/mores are harshly dealt with (either verbally or with body language - see how many eyes are rolled).

Not a single person approaches you to schedule a one-on-one after the meeting.

This is not a leads referral group.  This is a private social club using the leads referral group technique to write off having breakfast/lunch together legitimately as a business expense.

I've seen it personally once but I've heard of it many times. The only good news I have for you with groups like this is that it’s hard to find one without being invited, especially if Meetup is the main way you find new groups – they’re not typically on Meetup as they want to keep their little group... little.

4) The Leaders Act Like Bosses

Let's talk about your participation
in our charity 5K run ONE MORE TIME.

For me, one of the best things about leaving corporate life and doing my own thing is that I don’t have someone that I report to on a daily basis that’s allowed to yell at me (or rather, sternly talk to I guess – I haven’t worked for many yellers) for any reason.

It’s one of the perks of going on your own, right?  No boss.

But some leads referral groups have a culture where the leadership – either one person, or a committee – feels like it has the right (or goodness gracious me, the duty) to order the membership around.  It seems to be more common in groups that have a pretty steep membership fee, but it’s not just them.

They’ll shame members into activities or hold them to group goals/standards as if they were setting down a business plan in a corporation, and all of their jobs were on the line – and if the goals aren't met, there is hell to pay in a stern talking to, sometimes in a public meeting.

Yes, it’s fine for groups to have goals, standards and rules. But to act like the world will end if it is not met, and we’ll all be fired (especially for goals that are not related to generating leads for members directly) is just crazy.

This is not a leads referral group – this is an old-fashioned J-O-B.

5) No New Blood

This is more about apathy than anything, and it’s really the way to spot a dying group.

There aren’t any new guests to the group in weeks – you’re the only new person they've seen in a while.  And they will tell you this.  And they will latch on to you like a starving man on a half-eaten bison burger from FnG Eats.

This group may be quite friendly and nice, but honestly, if you’re the first new person they've seen in weeks, it’s not a viable group - these guys are not out making new contacts, finding new customers, and trying to grow business.  They are coasting and hoping you, the newbie, will do that work for them.

If you have some free time, and this group works for you for other reasons (such as location/time/target customer), it's okay if you want to get in there and start trying to grow it. I wish you luck.  But make sure you really strongly consider the time/effort investment in a dying or dead group before you go down that path - you will be growing that group all by yourself for a while.

So, those are the five reasons your leads referral group sucks.  Are you wasting your precious time/money on groups like this?  Is your favorite group starting to show any of these signs?

Did I miss anything?  Let me know!

Five Reasons Your Leads Referral Group Sucks (Part 1)

I do a lot of leads referral marketing, and I've been to more groups than I can count (and I get invited to new ones all the time – they are, at least in my area, thick on the ground and a key tactic for small businesses in my area).

But sometimes, I run across a group and I’m like, “Wow, this group is just… wow.”

And I do not mean this in a good way.

Here's five things I've seen or heard of in groups that seem to be missing the point - you get two in this post, and three in part two (ooh, a cliffhanger!)

1) It’s too hard to become a member

I understand that you want to only associate with people that are as invested in the purpose of the group as you are.  After all, you don’t want any “free riders” and you want to protect your time and money investment in the group.

But my goodness, the hurdles some groups are asking people to jump over – before they are able to participate long enough to understand if all that effort is even worth it – are ridiculous.

I've heard of groups that require five or more one-on-ones with members (or even just a select group of members – like a “membership committee”), bringing five or more guests not in already “locked in” industries, make five or more referrals (or even worse - sales or bookings), and then the membership (or that committee) votes you in or rejects you, and then you have to also pay a yearly fee.  And you have to do this within a specific time frame or you start all over.

Yikes!  Are you trying to create a leads referral group, or are you creating a country club?  If it’s that hard to get in, aren't you limiting your group to a very small, select group?  How will you get fresh blood – and referral sources – if you make it so hard to join?

2) Industries “Locked In” are too broad

Okay, so, let’s say a group has a graphic artist in the group, and he’s a “locked in” member (no other people can join in his industry).  His name is Sebastian. His main focus is designing logos, print pieces, and signage for businesses, but Sebastian also has a little experience in designing web pages and making online videos.

You're such a jerk, Sebastian.

Rowanne shows up to the group, and Rowanne, while also a graphic designer, is completely focused on building web pages and making online videos.

While yes, Rowanne’s business overlaps Sebastian’s, if the group allows both, they can both specialize and both can work together (and refer to each other).

But in many groups, Sebastian would not “allow” Rowanne into the group, in order to protect his leads (because he might want that web/video business).

This is horrifically short sighted, people, and a sign of a membership that is so afraid that the product/service they offer is so poor it can’t survive without a highly protected leads market.

To me, it smacks of low self-esteem and lack of confidence in yourself and your product.  Groups made up of people like this tend to be full of drama, gossip, and a waste of time.

I'll list the three other reasons in Part 2.  What do you think so far?  Have you encountered groups like this?